Review: “Tangled” brings hair-raising entertainment as Disney’s 50th animated feature film

in Disney, Movies, Reviews

Disney’s newest animated feature Tangled is a terrifically entertaining movie in the style of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, but with computer animation. I recently attended the first promotional screening of the film in the Dallas, TX area on Oct. 23. While it is a computer-animated film, it was shown during this screening as a 2D print. The movie will also be released wide in 3D, and I definitely plan to see it that way as well.

Given that Tangled is not only Disney’s first computer-animated fairy tale but also their 50th animated film of any sort, it’s easy for fans to wonder how the film stacks up against decades of family-friendly films.

So does Tangled have any hope of success on the heels of the beloved Toy Story 3? Absolutely! It follows in the tradition of the great Disney animated fairy tales and has enough action and comic relief to keep even the most active boys and girls (and their parents) interested. The kids in attendance at the screening (there were lots of them) were quiet throughout and the audience applauded enthusiastically at the end.

It’s a welcome addition to the Disney fold, and of course, Rapunzel should join the group of Disney Princesses, and Mother Gothel will no doubt be added to the Disney Villains’ A-list.

In recent years, Pixar has dominated the computer-animated film world. But Tangled, not created by Pixar but instead Walt Disney Animation, compares quite favorably. Rapunzel’s flowing hair is gorgeous. Much attention was given to this important character trait and I noticed at least five of the film’s credits featuring the word “hair” in them – and there may have been more. The supporting cast includes a horse named Maximus who steals every scene he’s in. This is far and away Disney’s greatest achievement in computer animation under its own banner, thus far. While Tangled is not a Pixar-produced film, you can still feel John Lasseter’s presence.

Alan Menken returns to create the songs for Tangled after a 3-year absence (his last Disney movie was 2007’s Enchanted) and he should have no trouble with his work here come Oscar time (historically, he already has 18 nominations, winning 8). The best songs are the wonderful duet “I See The Light” and the rousing “I Have A Dream,” one of the funniest Disney musical numbers ever. The title doesn’t make it sound very humorous, but trust me.

Disney fans will love it and the Mouse should see big box office numbers for the holiday season. GO SEE IT!


Details about TANGLED:
Rating: PG for brief mild violence
Directed by Nathan Grano and Byron Howard
Screenplay by Dan Fogelman based on RAPUNZEL by The Brothers Grimm
With the Voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett
Score by Alan Menken, Songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater


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